Improvement in mill-spindles



GQ B. ROOT 8 WV. W. ROBINSON.. MILL-SPINDLE. No. 169,847. Patented Nov.9. 1875.

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UNITED STATES PATENT rrrou GARDNER B. ROOT AND WILLIAM W. ROBINSON, OFRIPON, WISCONSIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN MILL-SPINDLES.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. l 69,847, dated November9, 1875; application led i f September 1, 1875.

To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that we, GARDNER B. ROOT, andWILLIAM W. ROBINSON, both of Ripon, in the county of Fond du Lac andState of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMillstone Trams and Bushing; and We do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, inwhich- Figure l is a'vertical section taken in the plane of the line mx, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the bed-stone and top of the bush,the

cap of the latter being removed. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of theboss, taken in the plane of the line y y, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is aperspective View of one of the bearing-boxes of the spindle. Fig. 5 is asimilar View of one of the adjustable wedges; and Fig. 6 is a top-planview of the annular plate and the cap of the bush, by which thedust-packing is held around the spindle.

Similar letters of reference in the accompanying drawing denote the sameparts.

Our invention has for its object to improve the operation of that classof millstones in which the bed-stone is adapted -to rock on itssupports, for the purpose of adjusting itself to the face of the runner.To this end the invention consists, first, in a series of adjustablesprings placed under the edge of the bed-stone, for the purpose ofleveling and balancing the same without interfering with itsoscillations. It also consists in the constructionof the ad justablebearing-boxes in the bush of the bedstone, and their combination withthe runnerspindle, for the purpose ofproducing a uniform pressureagainst the spindle7 to prevent the unequal wear and heat thereof, aswell as of the'l boxes. It also consists in the combination ofa-iiexible gasket with the bed-stone and runner-spindle, for the purposeof preventing grain, llour, dust, Ste., from passing down through thestone, to injure the bearing-surfaces of the spindle and boxes, and atthe same time permitting the free oscillations of the bed- It alsoconsists in the combination of the flexible gasket with the bed-stone,the spindle, and the bushing, forthe purpose of holding the centralsupport of the gasket in place around the spindle. It also consists inthe construction of the gasket and the means for securing it tothebed-stone and bush. It

-cap or cover of the bushing, for the purpose of preventing the 'passageof dust, lilour, Ste., around the spindle, down to the boxes.`

In the accompanying drawings, A is the frame-work supporting themillstones, composed of two cross-timbers carrying a central platform,B. O is thetubular bush, rising from the center of the platform. D isthe bed-stone, mounted loosely upon the bush, and provided upon itsunder side with an annular met-al plate, E, having notches or recessesat opposite points in its lower face. F is an annular rocking plate ofmetal, provided with lugs g g upon its upper surface to enter therecesses in the plate E, and with recesses in its lower surface at rightangles to the line of the lugs g g to receive lugs upon the platform B.By this construction the bedstone is adapted to oscillate freely inanydirection, sov

that its upper surface shall conform to the face of the runner H, whichis mounted upon the spindle Iin the usual manner. J J are bent springs,bearing at one end against the under side ofthe bed-stone, and swiveledat theiropposite ends to the points of screws K K,

passing upward through the cross-timbers of the frame. The springs yieldreadily under the oscillations of the stone, and serve to level andbalance the same when adjusted by the set-screws. The springs preventthe wastage of grain when the stones are iirst started, because theyhold it up to the runner and pre- ,vent it from tipping ineitherdirection.

By this method of balancing We avoid the injury done to the stone bycutting into its sides for the introduction of thelead balancecommonlyemployed. l

The bearing-boxes. and their connections are constructed in thefollowing manner: The interior of the bush C is cast or otherwise formedwith three radial chambers tol receive the bearing-boxes L, and aroundthe three sides of each chamber, midway of its length, is a horizontalrib, m, preferably cast with the bush. The boxes L, by which the spindleis supported and guided, are made with fiat sides to beai against theside ribs of the chambers, and their faces are made concave and linedwith Babbitt metal, in the usual manner, to bear against the spindle.The rear sides of the boxes are beveled from the top downward, so th atthe widest end of each shall lie at the bottoni of the chamber. 0 O arewedgeshaped adjusting-blocks, placed within the chambers behind theboxes, and mounted upon long screw-rods, l?, secured to collars Q ineach block.' The lower ends of the screwrods enter female screws at'thebottom of the chambers, and by their operation the wedgeblocks are fedup and down behind the bearing-boxes. The'front faces of theadjustingblocks are made convex transversely, to bear against thebeveled sides of the boxes, and their rear faces and sides are madeperfectly flat, to rest against the side and back ribs m 0f thechambers.

By this construction of the chambers, wed ges, and boxes, the latter aremade to bear against the spindle with a uniform' central pressure, andat the saine time yield to any jar of the spindle, and oscillate toshape the Babbittmetal lining thereto.

The ribs m canse the boxes to bear evenly against the spindle throughouttheir entire length, while the convexity of the wedges prevents tlieboxes from bearing unevenly against the spindle in a lateraldirectionthat is to say, the ribs forni a central line across the backandV sides of the boxes, upon which the latter oscillates to and fromthe shaftwhile the convexity of the wedges forms a central linelongitudinally of the boxes, about which they oscillate laterally to andfrom the shaft.

This construction, therefore, forms a universal joint, by which theboxes are adapted to yield in any direction to conform to the jarringsand oscillations of the spindle.

The vertical adjustment of the wedges to tighten and loosen the boxesdoes not affect' .the central bearings thereof, which always remain thesame, with the results above stated.

It is the flexible gasket, composed of leather, cloth, rubber, or otherproper material, and and fitted into the eye of the stone by thefollowing means: S is a rabbeted disk, firmly attached as a cover to thetop of the bush, and through the center of which the spindle passes.rlhe inner edge of the gasket is bent down and attached to the verticalface of the rabbet, where it is firmly secured by a bandi or strap, t.It is then bent or folded outward,

and its outer edge clamped to the eye of the which yields readily to theoscillations of the stone, and at the same time effectually preventstlour, dust, or other matter from passing down through the stone to cutand wear the boxes and spindle.

The cover or disk S is beveled outward around its eye to form a shallowrecess for the reception of a roll, W, of cotton, wool, or othermaterial, which is covered by a thin cap, X, iitting closely against thespindle and secured firmly to the disk. This forms the dust-packing, toprevent dust, dirt, and other injurious matter from passing down to theboxes around the spindle. If desired, an. annular iexible washer may beplaced under the plate, with its inner edge bent upward aroundthespindle, to more effectually exclude the dirt; but in most cases thesoft roll and cover X will be found sufficient. The spindle islubricated in the usual manner by the capillaryA attraction of a pieceof wicking encircling the spindle, with its end inserted in theoil-receptacles Y formed in the bushing between the box-chamber.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new is- 1. Thecombination of a series of adjustable. springs with thel oscillatingbed-stone, for the purpose of leveling and balancing the same withoutinterfering with its oscillations, substantially as described.

2. rlhe adjustable bent springs J J, arranged under the edge of thebed-stone, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

3. The chambers of the box, formed with a horizontal rib, m, around itssides, substaiitially as described, for the purpose specified.

4.' The combination of the chamber-ribs m,

convex wedges 0, and beveled bearing-boxes' L, with the bush andspindle, substantially as described, for the purposes specified.

5. The combination of a iiexible gasket with the runner-spindle andoscillating bed-stone, substantially as described, for the purposesspecilied.

6. The combination of aexible gasket with the ruimer spindle, theoscillating bed-stone, and the bushing,for-the purpose of holding thecenter support of the gasket in place around the spindle, substantiallyas described.

7. rlhe rabbeted disk or bush cover S and the clamping-rings U U,combined with the iexible gasket, for securing it to the bush around thespindle and to the eye of the bedstoiie, substantially as described.

S. The diist-packing, consisting of the packing material fw, held withina recess of the disk S around the spindle, by means of the cap X,substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

GARDNER B. ROOT.

W. W. ROBINSON. Witnesses for both signatures:

H. H. MEAD, LEND. HIGBY.

